Dispensing toothbrush



Jan. 18, 1955 cs. w. JOHNSON DISPENSING TOOTHBRUSH mvEN'roFi George l0. John 5 012 Filed July 12, 1951 ATTORNEYS United States Patent O I DISPENSING TOOTHBRUSH .George W. Johnsonysan Francisco, Calif.,. assignor of one-fourth t 'KatherinefnM. -Hylt0n,--Sa1n Jose, onefourth to. MargucritaCJAruold, and one-fourth to 'Carl A.;Meyer,.b o.th of Diamond Springs, Calif.

Application July 12;- 1951; Serial No. 236,380

: 1 Glaim. (Cl. 222-4990) The present invention is..directed to, and it is a. major object to provide,; aldispensingtooth. brush of novel con- .end of the barrel.

An additional object of the; invention is to provide a dispensing tooth brush wherein the bristle supporting head is detachably secured to the barrel by a neck on the rear end of said head threaded into a tapped bore in the forward end of the barrel, said bore being taperedwherebyupon'detachment ofthe bristle supporting headthe neck of any. standard collapsible tooth paste tube may be threaded into said bore even though there maybe, slight variation in neck diameter.

A further object of the invention is to provide the bristle supporting head with bristle tu-fts. and atooth paste discharge slit in an arrangement whereby it is possible to readily flush or washfltheibristlestclean after use, and without. leaving any excess tooth paste adjacent. said discharge slit.

A still further object of the invention is to provide the dispensing tooth brush with an eifective and convenientto-use removable cap for the bristle supporting head; such cap, when in place on the head, protecting the bristles, yet permitting of adequate ventilation thereof so that they may dry and not become soggy.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a tooth brush designed for ease and economy of manufacture.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a practical and reliable dispensing tooth brush, and one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claim.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved dispensing tooth brush, with the cap shown detached.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the tooth brush with the bristle supporting head detached and a collapsible tooth paste tube attached for the purpose of filling the barrel with tooth paste.

Fig. 3 is a cross section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross section on line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the bristle supporting head detached from the barrel, but with the cap in place on said head.

Fig. 6 is a cross section on line 66 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary top plan view of the bristle supporting head showing particularly the longitudinal, tooth paste discharging slit.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the improved dispensing tooth brush comprises an elongated tubular barrel I initially open at its rear end, and formed at the forward end with a tapered threaded bore 2.

The spider is in the form of axially extending circumferentially spaced and relatively narrow ribs which extend radially in from thebarrel wall over and in guiding relation to an .e'nlarge d head' 5-formed on the adjacent end of the. shaft. and which is well spaced. from the outlet bore 2. The ribs terminate in radially inwardly projecting fingers 6 which engage'the shaft in centralizing rela- 'tion as'shown in Fig. 3 and-providefshoulders 7'bear-ing against theinner face .of the head 5. Thespider ribs thus leave slots" 8Ialong the barrelpastthe spider andhead 6 so-that' the paste can flow .to or'from the outlet with a minimum of resistance.

The thickness of the radial head6 is much less than the depth of the recess 5 whereby slots 8 communicate with the recess Sfrom within the barrel 1; "this arrangement being-forithe purpose of permitting tooth paste-to flow from within the' barrel .and through such recess 5 in a forward direction.

The rear end of the barrell is closed by a finger knob 9 having a skirt. 10 which-lapse corresponding portion of the barrel. At its rear end. the screw shaft 3 is flattened on opposite sides, as'at 11,-and such flat-sided end portion at tlegshaft seats in matching relation in a socket '12 in the A headed. holding screw 13 extends through the knob 9 and is threaded into the adjacent end portion of thescrew shaft 3. With this arrangement the finger knob 9 is held in place. onthe -barrelbut is'turnable whereby'to rotate the screw'shaft 3 in .onedirection orthe other.

A piston-14 is'threaded on the screw shaft 3; such piston i-ncluding,at its peripherya concave groove 15 having a sealing ring,16 engaged therein; such ring being circular in cross section, projecting from the groove 15 and havingwiping contact with the inner wall-of the barrel 1. Thesealing ring 16 is of resilient material such as rubber, or a, synthetic material such as neoprene.-

.When the piston 14 is fully retracted in the barrel 1, it lies rearwardly of a .bleed opening 17 through the barrel adjacent the fingerknob 9.

The numeral 18 indicates an elongatedbristle supportvinghead having, rearwardlyof ashoulder 19, an axially .projectingthreaded neck -20, andsuch neck is normally threaded into'the bore 2, with the shoulder'19 in. flush engagement against the forward end of the barrel 1, as in Fig. l. The head 18 includes a face 21 from which a plurality of rows of bristle tufts 22 project, except that in the center row-intermediate the ends thereofcertain of such tufts are omitted to provide a pocket 23.

A longitudinal passage 24 is formed in the bristle supporting head 18; such passage opening at its rear end through the neck 20, and at its forward end communicating with a longitudinal slit 25 which opens to the face 21 in the pocket 23. The longitudinal slit 25 is extremely narrow, and its purpose is to discharge tooth paste into the pocket 23.

When the above described dispensing tooth brush is to be used, the finger knob 9 is rotated in a direction to cause the piston 14 to fully retract, exposing the bleed opening 17. With the bristle supporting head 18 detached, the neck 26 of a standard collapsible tooth paste tube 27 is threaded into the tapered threaded bore 2 of the barrel 1; such tube 27 then being squeezed to cause a quantity of tooth paste to deliver through the slots 8 into the barrel 1. The air in the barrel displaced by the tooth paste escapes through the bleed opening 17.

After the barrel 1 is filled with tooth paste, the collapsible tube 27 is detached and the bristle supporting head 18 replaced.

Preparatory to tooth brushing, the finger knob 9 is turned in a direction to advance the piston 14 a relatively short distance, pushing the tooth paste 28 in the barrel 1 forwardly, with the result that a quantity of such paste advances through the slots 8 and along the longitudinal passage 24 in the bristle supporting head 18. This causes a corresponding quantity of the tooth paste to discharge from the slit 25 into the pocket 23 surrounded by the bristle tufts 22.

The teeth are then cleaned with the tooth brush in the usual manner, and after the tooth brushing operation is completed, the bristles can be readily washed clean, without any tendency of accumulated tooth paste to remain attached at the line of the slit 25. This is for the reason that the slit 25 is extremely narrow, and further the pocket 23 provides an opening through which wash-water can gain direct access to the slit 25.

After the tooth brush has been used, the bristle supporting head 18 is frictionally engaged in a sheath-like cap, indicated generally at 29. The cap 29 is elongated, but substantially rectangular in cross section, being open at the rear end and for a major portion of the bottom thereof. The cap 29 includes sides 30 and a top 31 which extend full length rearwardly from a closed outer end 32.

Adjacent the open bottom thereof the sheath-like cap 29.is formed, on its inner faces, with opposed longitudinal channels 33 defined along the inner edge by longitudinal ribs 34, and defined along the outer edge by longitudinal flanges 35, which flanges merge adjacent but short of the front of the cap, as at 36.

The sides 30 of the cap, and consequently the channels 33, have slight convergence from the rear to the front of said cap, and the related portion of the bristle supporting head 18 is correspondingly tapered. Thus, when the bristle supporting head 18 is projected in the cap 29 and seated at opposite side edges in corresponding channels 33, there is matching frictional engagement, which friction is enhanced by virtue of the fact that the sides 30 have a certain amount of spring. The cap 29 is dimensioned in cross section so that when said cap is engaged on the bristle supporting head 18, the bristles extend into the cavity 37 of the cap in clearance to the sides 30 and top 31, as clearly shown in Fig. 6.

The invention provides a very handy, practical, and reliable dispensing tooth brush; the same being easy to fill and convenient to manipulate. The removable cap maintains the bristles clean and sanitary, while permitting of adequate drying, when the tooth brush is not in use.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention, as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new and useful, and upon which Letters Patent are desired:

In a dispensing tooth brush which includes a tubular barrel for tooth paste, means forming an outlet at one end of said barrel, said outlet extending through the wall of the barrel, said tubular barrel having a longitudinal axis, means forming a spider and thrust bearing connected to said barrel and extending inwardly of said outlet, said last named means comprising ribs circumferentially spaced with respect to said longitudinal axis and having portions extending parallel to said longitudinal axis, said ribs each having a radially extending portion projecting inwardly from the axially parallel extending portions thereof, said axially parallel extending portions of said ribs forming a recess therebetween and said radially extending portions forming a bearing within said recess, said ribs forming slots therebetween communicating with said outlet and the interior of said barrel, a screw shaft extending axially in the barrel, a piston threaded on the shaft for travel along the barrel upon rotation of the shaft, a finger knob secured to the shaft at one end of the barrel opposite said outlet and forming a closure for said end of the barrel, said shaft having an enlarged head on the end opposite the knob, said head being spaced from said outlet and being received in said recess and seated on said bearing formed by said radially extending portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 913,184 Alexander Feb. 23, 1909 1,479,275 Beil Jan. 1, 1924 1,571,775 Garris Feb. 2, 1926 1,728,298 McLaughlin Sept. 17, 1929 1,902,859 Joseph Mar. 28, 1933 1,906,837 Brochu May 2, 1933 1,918,069 Wallace July 11, 1933 1,943,893 Johnson Jan. 16, 1934 1,950,769 Baar Mar. 13, 1934 2,294,631 Rocca Sept. 1, 1942 2,317,111 Perwas Apr. 20, 1943 2,353,355 Okies July 11, 1944 2,373,444 Azpiazu Apr. 10, 1945 2,485,467 Weisbaum Oct. 18, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 930,012 France July 28, 1947 

